Supervisor at driver’s license center convicted

Jury said he issued licenses to known criminals, using other people’s data

By Kathleen Brady Shea, Managing Editor, The Times

Khalif Abdullah Ali was convicted by a Chester County jury of identity theft, tampering with public records, and related offenses.

A Philadelphia man accused of fraudulently issuing driver’s licenses at a Chester County Drivers’ License Center was convicted Wednesday.

A jury found Khalif Abdullah Ali, 43, a supervisor at the license center in East Whiteland Township, guilty of identity theft, tampering with public records, computer trespass, and related offenses. The panel concluced that Ali, working with wanted criminals, used his government position to create authentic Pennsylvania driver’s licenses with the biographical information of innocent citizens before adding the photograph of the criminal to the license.

“This case was about public corruption and a significant public safety risk,” said District Attorney Tom Hogan. “The defendant abused the trust of his position, using his government job to perpetrate a crime.”

Hogan pointed out that the crimes put both law enforcement and the public at risk, shielding criminals behind seemingly legitimate driver’s licenses. “A police officer pulling over one of these criminals would have no idea that he was dealing with a potentially dangerous criminal,” Hogan said, praising Assistant District Attorney Priya DeSouza, who tried the case, and Pennsylvania State Police, who led the investigation.

One of the criminals Ali supplied with a driver’s license was caught and testified against Ali during the trial; other driver’s licenses created by Ali are still at-large, Hogan said. Ali is incarcerated in Chester County Prison awaiting sentencing by Senior Judge Thomas G. Gavin.